Run Fun

I've been really behind in reading my emails the past month- well i haven't really read them since mid June. oops.  Unless i know its something that is urgent and needs to be read right away, I've let things sit on the back burner. i subscribe to a few blogs so any time there is an update, i get sent an email. Normally i read them right away as they provide me something to think about or some motivation to get up and be active.  One that i subscribe to and LOVE is Hollie's (@FueledbyLOLZ).  

Hollie's blog provides me with constant motivation, running gear updates and someone i can relate to on many levels.  I do not know her personally, but i consider her one of my role models and someone i look up to, especially in the running world. 

In a past blog of her's, a survey and training, she posted a fun survey that she had gotten from a blog she follows.  So i decided i would have some fun and "take the survery" as well!  I would love to know what you would answer to the questions! You can email me your survery at liveforfitnessllc@gmail.com or you can comment on the bottom!  Lets have some fun and learn about our fellow runners :)

Would you rather run along a beach path or a mountain trail?

I would rather run on a beach path.  When i was in high school, my Swim team would take a trip every other summer to Fort Lauderdale for an international swim meet and for a week of training.  Part of our training was getting up every morning at 5am before heading to the pool at 6 to get get in a 3 mile beach run.  The run would start on the sidewalk along the beach and we would end with sprinting in the the sand on the beach outside of our hotel. It was such a workout running in the sand and i absolutely loved it!

We trained at the International Swimming Hall of Fame and ran the beach right outside the pool :)

If you could choose the flavor of Gatorade at your next race's aid stations, what would it be?

I would love if they had strawberry-kiwi - however, i think that flavor was discontinued years ago.  I'm not a huge Gatorade person, but when i am racing i do choose the Gatorade instead of the water at the aid stations. 

If given a $100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing you would purchase with it?

Last year, i won a $50 gift certificate (from placing 3rd in a 5K) to Performance Running Outfitters, probably the best running store in the Milwaukee area. I immidiatley went and got my CEP calf compression sleeves.  If i won $100 i would either get a new pair of running shoes, or i would stock up on Feetures socks, cliff bars, and get some arm compression sleeves. 

Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and decide how far and how fast you want to run?

When i am training for a run, i will make a training plan and do my best to stick to it; however, life is messy sometimes and plans cant always be followed to the exact.  The last half i ran in June, i had a training plan set but i didnt follow it the way i had planned.  Or at all for that matter.  See Summerfest Rock N Sole for details.  When i do not have a race coming up, i just wake up and see where the day takes me.  Some days i have goals of a ten mile run and once i start running i realize 5 is the limit for me.  I tend to average 3-5 a day when i do run.  I would like to make my daily runs become longer and more consistent but i am battling severe knee pain and am currently looking into getting an MRI done on my knees to see how my cartilage levels are - or if im on the verge of having no cartilage left :/ Knee issues run in my family, so i have been aware that i would possibly one day have issues as well. 

Would you rather start you run with the uphill and end on the downhill or start your run with the downhill and end with the uphill?

I would actually like my run to start on a flat service then go uphill and finish on a downhill.  I feel when i finish downhill after an uphill, especially in a race, i pick up my pace and feel more motivated to finish strong.  Something about having my legs go from feeling dead on the uphill to all of a sudden free on the downhill. 

When you can't run, what type of cross-training do you choose to do?

So many things!! Check out my Instagram to see all that im involved in! I do everything from swimming, yoga, weight-lifting, jump rope.  All of it!! I play softball on Sundays and that helps add a little workout for me too!  I just love being active and fit! 

Sample of some of my Yoga Practice

What is your preference--> Out and back, point to point, or loop runs?

It all depends on my mood.  When i run on the east side, its all over the place.  The way i run down there, if not along the lake, is green light to green light.  I just follow the cross walks that let me continue running.  Otherwise, where i live now, i like out and back, its easier and just more familiar to me. When i am not running outside, I'm tread training or cross training. 

If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be-->

I'm going to have to quote @FueledbyLOLZ here and say "A good pair of running shoes, that's all you need to run"  

I would also suggest a good distance tracking device. I love my Garmin watch, but the Nike+ app that you can download on your phone is one that i use as well. Both are great for tracking mileage and pace. 

Do you ever see any wild animals while out on your runs?

Depends on where I'm running. I see the typical bird, squirrel, chipmunk etc. Very rarely do i see anything more wild than that.  I have seen a few deer on my runs but that's the most "wild" I've seen while out running. 

Ever gotten lost while on a run?

A few times, but since I'm home now, i guess i wasn't really lost, just confused on where i was for a little bit ;)  I just consider it an adventure. 

If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days...what would that meal be?

A lot of the time while im running, i think about chocolate milk.  Id like an endless supply of chocolate almond milk in my fridge, salads from whole foods salad bar, and maybe a cheese burger here and there :)

Capris or shorts...what do you run in most often?

SPANDEX!!! Nike Pro Spandex Shorts! Its my go to.  You will not find me running in capris unless it is absolutely freezing outside or i have a pile of laundry i haven't gotten to yet.

At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like its warming up and ready to go?

Depending on my run- if im going into a run only planning to run 3-4 miles, im going to go at a faster pace and will feel my body getting into groove at mile 1.5/2  if im going a longer run, normally 25 minutes or 4 miles is where i start to feel my body fall into groove and say, okay i got this lets not quit. 

What do you do with your key when you run?

When im running outside, i have it looped into a hair tie, and i wear that on my wrist with a few other hair ties over the key to hold it down and not distract me.  If my fiance is home while i go on a run, and isnt running with me, i leave my key at home.  When im at the gym, i keep a locker key on me and my house key in my gym bag, locked in my locker. 

If you could relive any race that you have done in the past, which one would it be?

I would actually go way back- to 2003.  Junior year of high school when i won the 800m at indoor conference.  I remember finishing that run and saying to my dad:

"I dont understand how people can do drugs, i feel so high on life right now"

wow...if only i had remembered that later in life- but that's a whole other story. 

What is your least favorite type of run?

One where i am lacking hydration, fuel and am injured. 

What has been your biggest motivation lately to get out the door to get your run on?

Reading blogs from fellow runners, my fiance, the dream of getting pregnant again and carrying to full term and having a fit and healthy pregnancy.

When you go for a run, do you leave right from your front door or do you drive somewhere to start?

I leave right out my front door! (unless im heading to tread train).

When running in daylight--> are sunglasses a must or an annoyance?

I have never run in sunglasses.  I feel i would find them beyond annoying. I have recently started to run in a hat, even on non sunny days and have really enjoyed my hat.  For other reasons, if i wear the brim low enough, i can only see about 5-10 feet in front of me and when i hit big hills, i just have to think "one foot in front of the other" instead of focusing on a massive hill in front of me. 

When you get tired, what keeps you from quitting.

I think of my fiance encouraging me to push forward and continue.  He is the most amazing person in my life and that keeps me going.

questions for you:

Answer any or all :) would love to hear about your running!!